Meals in the Time of Covid

Foodcentric. Is that really a word? Whether it is or isn’t, we are all thinking more about food, and most likely eating more as well. Avid chefs and bakers have been with us forever. They share recipes, post their food porn on Facebook, and are talking about food all the time.

Along comes a pandemic forcing everyone to shelter in place and the next thing I know, everyone is making hand-made pasta, inventing new muffins or perfecting their naan bread. It’s like the food fairy came down and sprinkled magic cooking dust over the entire world. Now everyone you know is talking about what they are cooking and baking.

When restaurants were forced to shut down, it left millions of people jonesing for the sociability and entertainment that was central to going out to eat. If you could no longer meet friends for dinner out, the next best option was to cook at home for loved ones. Early on in the shutdown, you would go to a grocery store and realize that eggs and flour were sold out…shelves were emptied. The baking and cooking had begun and pity the cooks who did not get their supplies in time.

The supply chain recovered and we’re all taking advantage of carry-out food, as a break from our own cooking, but also to try and support hard-hit restaurants that are doing everything they can to hang on. Stuck at home for much of the time, we’re turning to dead tree cookbooks and recipe websites to come up with new ideas for mealtime, and we’re not looking for fruity pancakes or tuna casseroles. No ma’am. We’re going for the hard stuff. Exotic Indian food, empanadas, lobster ravioli, shaksuka, and lemon merengue pie. Seven days a week, 3 meals a day. It’s a lot of pressure. Try not repeating the same meal for a month or more.

I’m not sure where all this is going to end, but it’s safe to say that meals in your house have either gotten a lot more interesting or there’s a huge pile of used take-out containers to go to recycling.

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept and at BoomSpeak. He's written a mystery novel, Head Above Water which can be purchased on Amazon here. You can also visit his author page here.

They Are Coming For You

They’re not trying to kill us. It’s not their intention but it may be the result. Many millennials and Gen Z’ers have the attitude that they are invulnerable to Covid-19, so it’s time to party on. It does not occur to them that they could be bringing the infection to their boomer grandmother the next time they drop in for a family dinner.

Were we really any different when we were that young? Of course not. We took risks without thinking about the consequences. We drove too fast. We drank too much alcohol. We took drugs even when we didn’t know what they were or what effects they might have. We had unsafe sex. You would have to admit we were young and dumb.

Maybe then, it’s a little disingenuous for us to complain that younger generations are acting irresponsibly. What really disturbs us is that their complacency could kill us. We were looking forward (and this is going to sound strange) to growing old and dying in bed at, oh, let’s say 93. Give or take a few years. Now we have to contemplate not making it out of our 70s because some whippersnapper (not sure where that term is coming from) has to hang out with his 200 friends at a bar downtown while not wearing a mask.

You could look at this as karma coming back to bite us in the ass. We got away with taking all those risks in our 20’s and 30’s but our destiny may be that we will be brought down too soon by a kid who just wanted to party with friends. It almost makes you want to give up and join the party. I said ALMOST. We need to keep our distance from these party goers, wear the mask at all times, and keep washing our hands. Our fate should remain in our hands as long as we can hold onto it. If your twenty-something grandkid or nephew wants to come by the house, JUST SAY NO.

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept and at BoomSpeak. He's written a mystery novel, Head Above Water which can be purchased on Amazon here. You can also visit his author page here.